ESPN NFL

» NFC: Cardinals | Saints | Vikings | Cowboys » AFC: Jets | Chargers | Ravens | Colts

A look at a player who could be a difference-maker this weekend.

New Orleans cornerback Jabari Greer. He could turn out to be the most important player on the field Saturday, despite having barely played in the second half of the regular season.

Greer missed seven weeks with a groin injury and returned to get a little tune-up in the regular-season finale against Carolina. But you can pretty much trace the overall decline in New Orleans’ defensive play to when Greer went down. Fellow starting cornerback Tracy Porter also was injured for much of the same time Greer was, and a secondary that was excellent for the first half of the season became very ordinary.

The Saints were forced to play rookie Malcolm Jenkins and briefly brought in veterans Mike McKenzie and Chris McAlister. That brought a change in style and attitude to the secondary. Free safety Darren Sharper, who was an interception machine early in the year, suddenly had to play more of a Cover 2 scheme to help the cornerbacks.

But Porter has been back for several weeks now, and all indications are that Greer should be at full health. That will allow Sharper to go back to being a center fielder, and that makes this defense a lot more dangerous.

Greer, a former college track champion, brings great speed, and that’s going to be necessary against an Arizona receiving corps that’s one of the best in the league. Greer may give up some size to Arizona’s top receiver, Larry Fitzgerald, but he has the speed and athleticism to at least stay close to him.

Arizona has plenty of other weapons, but having Greer back means the New Orleans secondary is suddenly much better equipped to deal with that. Jenkins or veteran Randall Gay will be on the field a lot as the nickelback. But Jenkins and Gay are more competent in that role than they were when they were being asked to be No. 1 cornerbacks.

Having Greer back might not correct every problem, but it should put this defense a lot closer to what it was early in the season.

There were a whole bunch of minor transactions around the NFC South on Tuesday. Here’s a quick roundup.

The Saints signed cornerback Marcus McCauley and waived cornerback Chris McAlister. The Saints also placed linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar on injured reserve. The summary on this one is that McAlister, who the Saints signed a couple weeks ago, was really old and it showed when he had to play. McCauley’s nothing special and didn’t live up to his status as a third-round pick in 2007 by Minnesota, but he can at least move.

The Falcons signed running back Verron Haynes and tight end Jason Rader and released receiver Troy Bergeron while placing linebacker Tony Gilbert on injured reserve. Nothing major here, Haynes has bounced on and off the roster this year. Rader was with the Falcons last year and was in training camp this summer.

As expected, the Bucs went ahead and placed return man Clifton Smith on injured reserve after his second concussion of the season. They filled his roster spot by elevating running back Kareem Huggins from the practice squad. Look for rookie receiver Sammie Stroughter to take over the return duties.

LANDOVER, Md. -- Go ahead and call the New Orleans Saints lucky.

I’m going to respond to that by throwing it over to Robert Meachem, because the Saints wide receiver has a simple, accurate response.

“It doesn’t matter to us because we got a W,’’ Meachem said.

Yes, this is what it has come to. Meachem, widely considered a bust in his first two seasons and never considered a media darling, has become a philosophical voice of reason. Maybe Meachem has had it inside him all along and we just never knew until Sunday when the Saints brought him into the postgame interview room, something normally reserved for coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees.

But Meachem officially became a star Sunday while earning a spot in Saints history, a history that’s being revised seemingly every week.

Meachem had two of perhaps the top five or 10 plays in team history in a 33-30 overtime win over the Redskins, a victory that clinched the NFC South title and preserved the magical unbeaten run for New Orleans (12-0). The plays could become even bigger if this season goes where it seems to be headed. Meachem sent the game to OT when he caught a 53-yard touchdown pass from Brees, 27 seconds after Washington kicker Shaun Suisham botched a 23-yard field goal attempt. If Suisham made that kick, the Redskins would have taken a seemingly insurmountable 33-23 lead.

“I never thought it was over,’’ Meachem said.

As corny as that may sound, it’s the truth. Not just for Meachem, but for all the Saints. They got outplayed by a bad team almost all game and still won.

If you’re going to have a special season, you have to be lucky and good at times. The Saints were good when they most needed to be against the Redskins and they were very, very lucky.

Meachem’s highlight for the ages came with 39 seconds left in the first half and the Redskins leading 17-10. That’s when Brees threw the best interception in franchise history, maybe the best interception ever. His pass for tight end Jeremy Shockey was intercepted by Kareem Moore. As Moore started to return the interception, Meachem cut through a couple of blocks, stripped the ball, picked it up and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown. The play stood up on replay.

Speaking of replays, timeouts and all-time Saints lists, we also probably saw the best timeout and best replay in franchise history.

They happened on the third play of overtime. Washington quarterback Jason Campbell, who thrived most of the day against an incredibly banged-up New Orleans secondary, hit fullback Mike Sellers with a short pass. Sellers initially was ruled down after he was hit by Chris McAlister. That's when Payton stepped in.

“I ended up calling a timeout just to slow things down,’’ he said.

In overtime, decisions to review plays must come from the replay assistant. As he’s been doing all season, Payton again pushed the right button with the higher powers.

Another glance showed Sellers fumbled and the play was overturned with McAlister getting credit for the fumble recovery at Washington's 37. The Saints drove down the field before letting Garrett Hartley, playing in place of John Carney on what basically was another great hunch by Payton, kick the winning 18-yard field goal.

“I don’t think that would have happened if we didn’t call the timeout,’’ Payton said.

He’s absolutely right. That’s why I’m not so sure about all this talk about fate and destiny.

“I don’t believe in that,’’ Payton said. “I think you’ve got to make your own way in this league.’’

Bash them for winning a game that they shouldn’t have. Or blame it on the Redskins for giving the game away.

But credit the Saints for being good and lucky.

"I definitely believe in destiny, and I believe in karma and what comes goes around comes around,’’ said Brees, who completed 35 of 49 passes for 419 yards. “We have been on the other side of this deal probably too many times. Maybe it’s our time that we start catching some of the breaks and start being the team that wins them like this in the end. I feel like if you continue to do things the right way, then good things happen to you.’’

NEW ORLEANS -- The best thing you can do when you get to a place you haven’t been before is act like you have.

That is precisely what the New Orleans Saints did Monday night.

A franchise that’s never been to a Super Bowl and a quarterback who has been accused of not winning big games went out and destroyed the closest thing we’ve seen to an NFL dynasty in recent times. The 38-17 victory over the New England Patriots brought the usual company line about it being “only one win’’ from every corner of the locker room.

Except for this:

“It only counts for one win on the stat sheet,’’ quarterback Drew Brees said immediately before veering from the teamwide game plan for the only time all night. “But, emotionally, those types of wins can mean a little bit more.’’

Ding, ding, ding. There, somebody admitted the obvious. This truly was more than a win. This was proof that the Saints are for real. This is the kind of win that builds confidence.

This was the kind of win this franchise really never has had before. Yeah, those wins against the Jets and Giants looked real nice earlier in the season. But that was before we found out the Jets and Giants weren’t all they were cracked up to be.

This … this was the New England Patriots (7-4). "Monday Night Football." Bill Belichick. The Saints aren’t supposed to win games like this and they sure aren’t supposed to totally dominate in games like this.

But they did. Get used to it because the Saints really are different.

“That’s confidence … confidence in the guys I’m throwing to and the guys up front blocking,’’ Brees said on a night in which he threw five touchdown passes to five different receivers against a head coach who just might be the greatest defensive mind ever. “I feel like that way a lot.’’

That’s the big thing -- Brees feels it and the entire team feels confident. Even the defense. Even when starting cornerbacks Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter weren’t able to play because of injuries and even after replacement starter Randall Gay had to leave early with a leg injury.

And even when the Saints had to turn to veteran cornerbacks Mike McKenzie and Chris McAlister, who weren’t even on the roster two weeks ago, and rookie Malcolm Jenkins to stop Tom Brady, Randy Moss and Wes Welker.

If you didn’t know any better and just flipped on the game, you would have thought McKenzie was a Pro Bowler in his mid-20s and not a guy the Saints let go after last season because he was old and had been through a couple of major knee injuries. McKenzie was out there on special teams and he was covering Moss and intercepting a pass.

“That’s all part of being in the NFL,’’ McKenzie said.

True, but McKenzie wasn’t in the NFL until he returned to the Saints, who switched defensive coordinators and schemes since his departure. He went through precisely four days of practice.

It wasn’t just McKenzie, McAlister and Jenkins. Defensive end Will Smith had 1.5 sacks and veteran safety Darren Sharper had his eighth interception.

“We obviously didn’t play up to their level,’’ Brady said.

Think about that statement and all its implications for a second. The New England Patriots did not play up to the level of the New Orleans Saints.

Those words never had been uttered before -- at least not this decade and at least not seriously. Now, those words have been screamed by every one of the 70,000 or so fans at the Superdome, who actually appeared to force Brady into two timeouts with their noise.

And it goes even deeper than that.

Who was the real defensive genius in the Superdome? New Orleans coordinator Gregg Williams. Not Belichick.

Belichick couldn’t figure out any answers for Brees. But, then again, I don’t think anyone could. Brees was perfect -- literally. He had a 158.3 passer rating, which is technically a perfect passer rating.

After the game, a reporter started to ask Saints coach Sean Payton about what happened on one of Brees’ touchdown passes.

“Which touchdown pass?’’ Payton asked.

He appeared to be very serious. There were plenty to choose from. There was that 75-yarder to a wide-open Devery Henderson.

“I couldn’t believe I was that wide open,’’ Henderson said.

There were the scoring strikes to Robert Meachem, Marques Colston and a screen pass that running back Pierre Thomas turned into a touchdown. And, then, there was the pass to Darnell Dinkins.

Yes that Darnell Dinkins -- the third-string tight end who is on the roster just to block. The guy who had not caught a pass this season before Monday night.

“That’s what we expect,’’ said Colston, who had four catches for 121 yards. “Drew’s going to find the open man.’’

There’s more truth in that than you realize. Maybe it’s time for us all to start expecting this kind of thing from the Saints. They are 11-0 and they’re no longer a novelty.

They’re for real and they know it. Now, all of us know it.

“I don’t think about how good we’ve been,’’ Brees said. “I think about how good we can be.’’

NEW ORLEANS -- For the last hour or so, e-mails and texts have been coming in from friends, who should know better than to e-mail or text while I’m working, to ask if I saw this coming.

I’ll answer one and all now: No. Not like this. Not anything like this.

Yeah, sure, I thought the Saints were very good and had a chance to win against New England. But I thought, if they won, it would be on some dramatic last-second play.

But absolutely blowing the Patriots out? No. And if anybody told you that, they were either a delusional Saints’ fan or they were lying.

You can’t make up what happened Monday night. With rookie Malcolm Jenkins and two really old cornerbacks (Mike McKenzie and Chris McAlister), who were signed off the street in the past two weeks, having to play significant roles because of injuries, this one should have been a mismatch for Tom Brady, Randy Moss and Wes Welker.

Turned out it was a mismatch. The Saints made Brady look ordinary and I’m having a tough time recalling Moss doing anything of significance.

By the way, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a quarterback have a better game than Drew Brees. All right, that’s all I’ve got right now. I’m heading down to the locker room for post-game interviews. I’ll be back with a full column in a bit.

NEW ORLEANS – The Saints really are going to find out how much recently-signed veteran cornerbacks Mike McKenzie and Chris McAlister have left in the second half.

The team just announced that cornerback Randall Gay has a leg injury and will not return to the game. The Saints already were without injured starters Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter. Rookie Malcolm Jenkins and Gay were the primary corners in the first half with McKenzie getting a lot of work as the third corner.

Now, the Saints have moved McKenzie and McAlister each up one spot.

NEW ORLEANS -- The Saints just announced some lineup changes after declaring cornerbacks Tracy Porter and Jabari Greer and running back Reggie Bush inactive because of injuries.

Rookie Malcolm Jenkins and Randall Gay will be the starting cornerbacks. Recently-signed veterans Chris McAlister and Mike McKenzie are both active and presumably will be the top backups.

Pierre Thomas will take Bush’s place as the starting running back. The Saints have said Devery Henderson will take over Bush’s duties as the punt returner.

Time for a special (and extended) edition of the New Orleans Saints mailbag.

Will in New Orleans writes: Do you think the return of Sedrick Ellis will fix the Saints run defense? They've been gashed by running backs almost every week since he hurt his knee.

Pat Yasinskas: I’m not sure Ellis’ return by itself will correct everything, but I think it will help significantly. He was playing very well before the injury and you could see the drop off in the run defense the moment he went out.

---

Dylan in Tyler, Texas writes: Pat, I'm pretty nervous about Brady coming into the superdome. I have faith in the saints, but Tom is pretty much the cream of the crop at QB (other than Drew Brees and Peyton Manning) and Randy Moss is arguably one of the best receivers of all time. Do you think that they'll torch the Saints considering our currently injury-filled defensive backfield?

Pat Yasinskas: This game obviously will be a huge challenge for the New Orleans secondary. We don’t really know yet who we’ll see in that secondary because starting cornerbacks Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter were out with injuries last week. If they return, that would be a big boost for the secondary. This group was playing very well before the injuries started piling up. I’m curious to see what the Saints can do if they’re healthy in the secondary.

---

Arief in Slidell, La. writes: As you may or may not be aware, Bobby Hebert on WWL 870AM called for Saints fans to wear black to the game on Monday Night against the Patriots to black out the dome. Since this has happened, many Saints fan pages on facebook have been calling for all fans going to the game to wear black. Signs labeled as "Operation Dome Black Out" have been made and so has other merchandise. www.whodatarmy.com These Facebook Saints fans pages also have thousands of fans, so the news is spreading quickly. I was wondering though if you could possible post a Saints blog on the situation to help spread the word to all the fans going to the game to wear black.

Pat Yasinskas: There, the word is out. Glad to further a cause started by Bobby Hebert, who I’ve gotten to know over the last two years and now consider a friend.

---

Charles in Brooklyn writes: I haven't seen anyone make the point, but the Saints are doing all of this with a roster that is one man short. They are carrying two PKs even though their punter handles the kickoffs. Weird, no?

Pat Yasinskas: Good point. Yes, the Saints are carrying both John Carney and Garrett Hartley. That’s two roster spots. They brought in Carney because Hartley was suspended for the first four games. Carney has been a little up and down, although he’s a proven veteran. Hartley has lots of upside potential and I think the Saints have kept him around because they’re not sure how much leg Carney has left. As they get closer to the playoffs, I think you may see a roster move because they could use a spot to add a player that could do different things for them.

---

Chris in Salem, Oregon writes: Many have speculated the Saints RB rotation is to keep them fresh. Would you think in a big game against the Pats that Pierre Thomas will play more being the most talented or will they stick to the rotation that has worked?

Pat Yasinskas: The short answer is that you don’t fix something that’s not broken and the rotation of Thomas, Mike Bell and Reggie Bush has worked nicely. That said, I think you could see a slight change and a bit more of Thomas. He is their best running back and this is a big game. It might make sense to give him a few more carries this week.

---

Jake in San Diego writes: My question is about the Saints secondary. I don't understand why the Saints are swinging for the fences on aging veterans at CB. I believe Jenkins had a wonderful first start. He ended the day with 7 total tackles, 5 solo, 1 interception and 2 deflected passes. I understand that he did this against one of the worst offenses in the league, but he was lined up on Bryant (Bucs #1 receiver) for the majority of the day. So again, why are the Saints signing aging CB's to come in and learn a new system in such a short amount of time? Especially when the starters that are injured should be back in a few short weeks.

Pat Yasinskas: I believe the Saints are doing the prudent thing here by adding veterans Mike McKenzie and Chris McAlister. They’re not going to jump ahead of Malcolm Jenkins. They’re simply there as insurance. With Porter, Greer and Randall Gay all banged up recently, the Saints simply are adding depth. In a best-case scenario, they’ll get healthy at this position and they won’t even have to play McAlister or McKenzie.

As we reported earlier Monday, the New Orleans Saints were closing in on a deal to bring back veteran cornerback Mike McKenzie. That’s now been finalized.

The Saints just sent out the official announcement of the deal. The Saints placed cornerback Leigh Torrence on injured reserve to make room for McKenzie.

A 10-year veteran, McKenzie was a fan favorite when he played for the Saints from 2004 through 2008. With the Saints, McKenzie started 62 of the 63 games he played in and had 12 interceptions and 225 tackles.

Her suffered major knee injuries in each of last two seasons and, at 33, it appeared his career was over. But McKenzie continued to work out on his own and when the Saints began a run of injuries at cornerback, they got back in touch with their former player. Besides Torrence, the Saints played without starters Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter on Sunday and were forced to start rookie Malcolm Jenkins and veteran Randall Gay, who had to leave the game with what he said was a hamstring injury.

The Saints also added veteran cornerback Chris McAlister last week. There is hope Greer, Porter and Gay will be able to play against New England next Monday, but coach Sean Payton said he wouldn’t have a clear picture on all the injuries until later in the week.

The Saints reportedly are close to bringing back longtime New Orleans cornerback Mike McKenzie.

The move comes as the Saints have been hit hard by injuries in the secondary in recent weeks. Starting cornerbacks Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter sat out Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay. Randall Gay, who moved into a starting role along with rookie Malcolm Jenkins, had to leave the game with a hamstring injury.

Gay said after Sunday's win that he hopes to be able to play next Monday against New England. The Saints also are hopeful that Greer and Porter may be ready for that game, but they’re not taking any chances.

McKenzie left the team after last season and some thought his career might be over because of age and knee problems. But McKenzie has continued to work out. And although the Saints have switched defensive schemes under new coordinator Gregg Williams, McKenzie likely would be able to pick up the system quickly.

The Saints also brought in veteran cornerback Chris McAlister last week. McAlister was inactive Sunday and coach Sean Payton said the veteran still was working his way into "football shape."

TAMPA, Fla. -- Just got the inactive list for the Saints and it’s pretty much what you’d expect.

Running back Reggie Bush, defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis and cornerbacks Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter are sitting out with injuries. Perhaps the most interesting thing is that newly signed cornerback Chris McAlister is inactive. A lot of people got excited when the Saints signed the veteran, but he’s just an insurance policy.

Randall Gay and Malcolm Jenkins will start at cornerback, and Leigh Torrence will be the top backup. Also inactive for the Saints are kicker Garrett Hartley, receiver Lance Moore and linebacker Jonathan Casillas.

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 11:

Place in history. Another week, a shot at another milestone for the Saints, although they’ll need some help from the Colts on this one. If the Saints beat the Bucs and the Colts beat the Ravens, it would be only the third time in NFL history that two teams have started 10-0. The last time it happened was 1990, when the Giants and 49ers did it. The only other time it happened was 1934, when the Bears and Lions each started 10-0. Fitting footnote to that one: The Lions then lost their final three games and didn’t make it to the NFL title game.

Doubling up. A victory also would give the Saints a 10-win season for only the seventh time in franchise history. But it would be New Orleans’ third season of double-digit wins this decade.

Road to the Meadowlands. Somebody’s slide has to stop Sunday when the Falcons play the Giants. If nothing else, the Falcons have history going for them. The last 12 times the Giants and Falcons have faced each other (dating back to 1981), the road team has won. That’s the longest such streak in NFL history.

Bryant’s big chance. Looks like receiver Antonio Bryant will return for the Bucs on Sunday after missing two games because of a knee injury that’s bothered him pretty much all year. This will be Bryant’s first real chance to play with rookie quarterback Josh Freeman and the coaching staff and front office will be watching that chemistry very closely. The Bucs, wisely, used the franchise tag on Bryant instead of signing him to a long-term contract this year. To get a long-term contract out of the Bucs after this season, Bryant needs to get back out there and show he can be a true No. 1 receiver.

Time for Jenkins to step up. I know a lot of people in New Orleans are talking about newly-signed cornerback Chris McAlister. But they should be talking more about rookie Malcolm Jenkins. With starters Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter banged up, it’s looking like there’s a very good chance Jenkins and Randall Gay will start against the Bucs. McAlister is just there as a veteran insurance policy. Jenkins has had a fairly quiet rookie season so far, but that’s largely because Greer and Porter were playing so well. Jenkins has more physical talent than either of those guys and we’re about to see his first real test.

New Orleans’ Gregg Williams isn’t just a good defensive coordinator. He’s also a very good quote.

Williams had a good assessment and some high praise for the Saints’ front office as he met with the media Thursday. Williams was spot-on when he said the Saints made the right move in going out and signing veteran cornerback Chris McAlister, instead of just sitting still, after injuries to starting cornerbacks Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter.

The Saints did exactly what any team with its eyes on the Super Bowl should have done.

“I think it’s another compliment to the organization that I’m learning about being involved with this organization,’’ Williams said. “I’ve been at places where you just did without. All of a sudden you get one of those defensive tackles to play corner or something like that. We always have a short list. I think Ryan Pace and his group [in the scouting department] upstairs do a tremendous job on who’s on the short list and bringing them in. I selfishly like veterans at this time of the year because I don’t have to catch them up as much. There are certain things he already knows about the National Football League, so we’ll just have to wait and see. He fits in well.’’